Bombay HC judges work through marathon hearings late into the night

It’s the annual summer season trip for the Bombay High Court however amongst the different judges listening to necessary issues, Justice Shahrukh J. Kathawalla and Justice Surendra P. Tavade have been burning the midnight oil.

On May 21, the Bench, together with its court docket employees, heard issues until midnight, and whereas granting reduction to former Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh mentioned, “Since we would cease to be vacation judges at the stroke of 12 a.m., we adjourn the hearing to May 24,” and directed the Maharashtra authorities to not arrest him until then.

Justice Kathawalla has a report of kinds in having heard issues until 3.30 a.m. in May 2018. He all the time ensures that the Bench he leads finishes every case that has been listed earlier than it, with out taking a look at the clock.

Both judges didn’t take their customary one hour lunch break and had their snacks and drinks whereas listening to all the civil and felony instances assigned to the Bench from May 15 through video conferencing.

The instances earlier than them had been a authorized pot pourri, with petitioners looking for interim bail plea, little one custody, eviction or demolition of buildings, tree reducing points associated to coastal street improvement, instances associated to termination of being pregnant, mental property, and former Maharashtra house minister Anil Deshmukh and Mr. Singh.

In the one week assigned to them, the Bench took pains to speak to an octogenarian who was in the midst of a dispute between his son and his daughter through video conferencing. The court docket thoughtfully requested the senior citizen if he needed to return to his native place, to which he mentioned that he had lived his entire life there and wouldn’t wish to return. Justice Kathawalla talked to the man’s son and mentioned, “Brothers and sisters should not fight. Money will come today and money will go tomorrow.”

The court docket additionally intervened in a matrimonial dispute the place the decide talked to a 10-year-old woman through video conferencing and requested her title, the college she was going to, and if she would speak to her father. The woman mentioned she didn’t wish to speak to her father after he had despatched her mom a divorce discover, and broke down. Justice Kathawalla tried to persuade her and requested her to speak to her father and specific what she felt.

In one other matrimonial dispute, considered one of the events was looking for little one visitation rights. Apart from taking the contentions put forth by attorneys, Justice Kathawalla had an in-person chat with the husband and spouse concerning the custody of a 7-year-old autistic little one.

It was most likely a primary at the Bombay High Court when Justice Kathawalla insisted that he needed to speak to Professor Hany Babu, who’s admitted in a COVID-19 ward at G.T. Hospital. It was solely after seeing and speaking to Mr. Babu together with the hospital employees that the Bench directed he be shifted to Breach Candy Hospital.

The court docket additionally directed that the 84-year-old Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, lodged at Taloja Central Jail, be produced earlier than him through video conferencing.

After the marathon listening to for the second time in the week on May 21, Justice Kathawalla mentioned, “We are facing criticism for sitting for such long hours. But what to do? Sticks and stones are thrown only at trees that bear fruits.”